Cycle of water: Birth
by Artemis zodiac
Summary: Facing death, Alex's mind takes him back through the events that lead him there. Plunged suddenly in to a world of war and fear Alex must decided who to trust, who wants to help him stop himself from destroying the world...and who wants to help him do it.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

_Life lives, life dies._

_Life laughs, life cries._

_Life gives up and life tries._

_But life looks different through everyone's eyes_

-Unknown

**_Location_**_: Unknown, a cell somewhere in Africa_

It's strange how life often seems to move faster than it should. Sometimes it moves so fast that upon arriving at a point you find yourself wondering. "How the hell did I get here?" Your brain, which because of the pace of your life couldn't before process the events of your life, now turns back wanting to understand how the hell you got yourself into this situation.

As I sat there in this small cold cell, to small that I can't stand-up or lie down, I found my self wondering that very question. "How the hell did I end up in this cell? At what point in my life did this become possible, at what point did it become inevitable"

The cell door creaked and I adjusted myself slightly, my naked, beaten and burned flesh rubbing against the cold concrete walls as I turned to look at the tiny door. The door stayed shut, a false alarm, but I knew they would come for me soon as they always had; the only difference was this would be the last time.

I stretched out my left arm, once again quietly gasping in shock at what they had done to me. There was barely a patch of skin that in the last few weeks of hell, had not been burned, beaten or tortured in any way. I looked at my other arm, my legs, my chest and the rest of my body. All of it was the same. I was once white, but now I was black, blue and red.

The door creaked again. This suspense used to kill me. At one time I considered that it might have been more painful than the wheel of fire they had strapped me too. I could still remember screaming, and the never ending pain and smell of burning flesh. The pain was still there, heck my whole body was in pain, but after weeks of constant pain and torture I had gotten used to it, just as I had gotten used to waiting. I waited calmly, the calm only held by someone to whom death was something certain and close by.

When I had first been bought here I had fought with everything that I had. I put up a fight that would have made Mr. Logan proud, but it had been in vain. The torture and punishment my body had taken had been too much. After two weeks I had stopped fighting in anger and started sobbing in despair. Now I just sat calmly, what was going to happen would happen, and not I thing I did would change that.

The door suddenly swung open revealing a man dressed in full red body armor. He was tall and big, the type a guy who could have earned a living in the ring rather than torturing people. He towered over me but I looked up at him with no fear. I had got passed the fear stage and besides, people fear uncertainty so even though the fate approaching me was horrifying, because I was certain of it I no longer feared it.

"On your feet mutant," The soldier barked.

I climbed shakily, every cell in my body screaming in protest. I was barely up when the guy spun sending a hard kick into my stomach. With a crash, I slammed into the wall of the cell before slumping back to the floor of the cell. Drops of blood flowed from my mouth and dripped to the floor. Behind the guard came the sounds of laughter '_Great_,' I thought. '_More guards_.'

"I said on your feet mutant," the guard said again.

Somewhere, deep down in my mind I felt the urge to say something or fight. But that urge, which had once burned like fire was now buried deep under layers of torture; I had lost all my will to flight and all my will to live.

I climbed once gain to my feet, expecting another kick, but this time I was allowed to stay standing. The guards grabbed me and started half pulling, half dragging me along the same hallway they always had, whilst punching and kicking me as best they could. I offered no resistance. After all, what was the point in delaying the inevitable?

Half-dazed I was lead out of the building and into the courtyard. The sun, which I hadn't seen in weeks, was blinding. But at least I would get to see it again before I died; a luxury I was surprised I'd been allowed.

I looked up and saw that they were dragging me towards two thick wooden posts, which had been driven into the middle of the bear earth yard, the post's dark brown contrasting with the soil's light brown. Around the posts was a cluster of about 200 people, dressed in ever day western wear, stood, upon seeing me they began to jeer.

"Fucking mutant!"

"Animal!"

"Die evil demon!"

"Kill the mutant!"

"Humans yes, mutants no!"

The last jeer became a chant which the crowd shouted at the top of their lungs, but like the jeers, I just ignored it as they lead me to one of the posts. One of the crowd stepped forward holding a bundle of thick rope out to the guard. The guards turned me around, slamming my back against the post. I felt the rope run around my wrist as my hands were forced around the post and behind my back. I felt the rope run around my shoulders, my stomach, my waist, knees and ankles, which like the ones around my wrist tightened till it felt like my circulation was being cut. I did nothing to stop them, it would have achieved nothing if I did.

I felt but didn't see their progress. I was looking back across the yard to the buildings in which I'd been held captive for so long. It was more of a bunker really. All that was visible were some mud huts, the same color as the earth. The rest of the compound was underground. Half way between the small gathering and the buildings another group of guards was making their way towards us. They, too, were pilling/dragging somebody. I knew who it was; I had been captured and tortured along with them. The audience however had to wait for the guards to get closer before, seeing that it was a young adult aged red-haired girl.

I smiled at her, she smiled sullenly back. We were the only good things left in each other's life. Like me she was naked, beaten and bruised, her fighting spirit, which had once burned bright, was now like mine: smothered under weeks of hardship.

The guards led her to the other post, quickly tying her tightly. She gave a huff of air as the ropes pulled on her stomach. With their job finished, the guards walked off to join the rest of the still jeering crowd.

I looked at my fellow captive and teammate, a girl who had over time become one of my best friend and over the noise of the crowd asked the question we both wanted to ask, even though we already new the answer. "So, you think there might be a last second rescue. She'll be right ya know."

The girl turned her head and looked at me. "No, laddie," she spoke, her voice calm. She had no fear of what was about to happen. She had come to terms with it and now just wanted it all to end "I do nae think dat dey are comin. If dey were don't cha think dey would be here by now?"

She was right of course. When we had first been captured, we had thought that a rescue would happen almost immediately. But minutes had turned into hours, hours had turned to days and now days had turned to weeks and weeks to months. Why our teammates hadn't tried to save us was to us irrelevant. The only truth was they weren't coming for us.

A sound caught our attention and we looked away from each other as a small gray jeep came around the side of the building. The crowd stop jeering as the jeep stopped at the edge of the gathering. I didn't care less as I saw what the jeep had in the back, bundles of branches and barrels of petrol, they was going to burn us. So what? At lest we'll go down in flames.

"Dying in flames of glory," I muttered to my friend.

"Aye," she replied her voice showing she had the same sense of calmness and happiness that everything would soon be over.

The door of the jeep opened and a tall, big, European man with reddish-brown hair, dressed in a simple black suit, stepped out. The crowd was silent as he surveyed the two of us tied to the posts. I had no idea who this guy was but even though he didn't look threatening there was something about him that made me think twice, that this was a man who was not to be underestimated. Then again why should I care? As if I was going to face him again. I was about to die.

The man looked at us for a moment longer before motioning to the crowed near the jeep and then to us. "Prepare them," he spoke, his voice full of an icy calm authority.

"Yes Mr. Creed," came the hurried replies as a dozen people moved towards the jeep. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had the faintest feeling I had heard the name before but I quickly dismissed it. Many people had the last name Creed.

He turned to us. "Alex Durkin and Rahne Sinclar," the man, Creed, spoke using, to our shock, our names. "You two have been found guilty by the Friends of Humanity of possessing the X-gene. Being in procession of this gene, be it intentionally or unintentionally, is a crime against humanity."

As he spoke the people, who had gone to the jeep came forward, placing the wood at our feet and piling it up until it was around our knees. The wood was dry and would burn easily once lit. Meanwhile Creed was continuing.

"These mutants are dangerous," he said pointing at us. "You've all seen on TV what they can do to other people and to themselves. It is for their sake as well as ours that they must pay the price for their crimes." For a second I wondered why this guy was giving a fuck about us, then I realized, people don't normally want to hurt others. By making it look like this was for our _benefit_, Creed, or whoever he was, was reducing the chance of people leaving. Credit when it's due, good manipulation on his part.

The dozen helpers had gone back to the jeep and had returned with four large, blue barrels of fuel, two for each of us. Taking the first the first barrel, they tipped it over the branches and logs at my feet splattering my legs. The group then picked up the second barrel and I thought they were going to do the same thing, but I was wrong. Lifting the barrel right over my head, they tipped the flammable substance completely over me.

I gasped as the cold, funny feeling liquid ran down me, drenching my hair and the rest of my body. The smell of petrol was so strong that I could barely breathe. I struggled against my bounds but it was hopeless. I looked over at Rahne who too had been covered in fuel, her hair, which normally, with it's buzz cut, stood up in a spiky fashion, was now drenched and flat, her body sparkled with petrol.

"So in order to protect humanity," Creed was finishing, "from these mutants. The two of you are to be burned at the stake until dead. Dose any _normal_ person have anything to say to them before we commence."

"You call these people normal." I heard Rahne mutter in utter shock.

"Normal by his standards," I muttered in reply. I didn't care anymore, why should I? I was going to die so what was the point in caring

The crowd was silent for a moment then someone, I don't know who, spoke. "Just hurry up and kill them Graydon! We don't have all day!" The crowd began to jeer again. I agreed with him, couldn't they just kill us already? I was starting to get sunburn.

"Very well," Creed said, he turned and looked at the jeep. "Executioner, we are ready."

A man totally in black with a black hood hoped out of the jeep. In his right hand he held an unlit touch in his left he held a lighter. Bringing them together, he lit the touch creating a bright orange flame the crowed cheered.

Beside me Rahne spoke. "Looks like this is it Alex, thanks for being a great…" What ever she was going to say next was lost in the roars and cheers of the crowd. The next thing I heard was "…I wonder why dey haven't come?"

She continued. I ignored her; my mind was beginning to wonder elsewhere. As I said, in times of stress, your mind wants to understand how it got there. The result is that it replays the memories of the events the lead up to the situation. People call it "your life flashing before your eyes" and most people think it's trying to remember happy times but I think it's just trying to understand the facts of how, where and why this situation had occurred.

So, as the black clad torch holder approached Rahne and me my mind flashbacked, to the events that where to change my life forever and to lead me to where I was now. It began just years ago on a remote part of the Whanganui River, New Zealand. It was there that my mutant abilities first showed and my life changed course. My name is Alex Durkin, codename Taniwha, and this is my story.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: A bend in the River

_Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them_

-Twelfth Night. (Act 3 Scene 1)

My name is, as I said before is Alex Durkin. Well, it's really Alexander Timothy Gregory Patrick Durkin-Wright. However, for the sake of brief I'll stick with Alex. I was going to be called Sam but my annoying cousin was born two days before me so it was changed to Alex. For the next 16 years of my life, everything was perfectly normal. Well normal as a normal life really is.

I grew up on a small farm on the out skirts of a small village called Ashhurst just outside Palmerston North. For the first few years I liked to insist that Ashhurst was a town, later however I realized how lucky I was and I began to insist the opposite.

However despite it's small size, Ashhurst was a nice place to live. The town center, nothing more than a dairy, a church, a fish and chips shop and two small grocery stores, had always been a great place to hang out. On the weekends my friends and me would bike to the dairy, buy some sweets or an ice cream if it was sunny and hang out on the wooden half-pipe near the hall. From there, we could see the green rangers that in the morning would keep the village in shadow. We would sit there having the time of our lives thinking we would never grow up. But like all kids, we did.

I had always been what people may call a math-and-science nerd. All knowledge, be it History, Geography or, despite being atheist, Religion had always been to me something I wanted to learn. This along with me being rather bright and hard working, according to my parents, resulted in me finding myself going to the boarding school Wanganui Collegiate School.

Fast track through all the irrelevant details, if they become relevant I'll mention them later. By the start of my forth year I was doing very well. My love for science was still burning strong, especially in genetics and evolution.

My interest however were not limited to just the classroom or books, the outdoors, the wilderness had always fascinated me, as had the beauty of nature. I was willing to take any opportunity to go on an expedition, so when the school offered a 6-day journey down the Whanganui River it would be an understatement to say I was keen.

The trip was supposedly simple and well planed. We would walk, bike and canoe 261 kilometers, starting up at the top of the river near Mt Ruapahu, and finishing where the river met the sea. An amazing adventure that would have us seeing everything from volcanic scenery, to lush bush, to white rivers and crashing oceans. What could go wrong?

….

**_Location_**_: Teiki Marae, Whanganui River, New Zealand_

For what would be the final time that day, I slid me paddle into the crystal water propelling my small yellow kayak onto the rocky shore of the Whanganui River, the crunching of rocks symbolizing the end of the day's leg of the six-day journey.

The scenery around us was one of pristine beauty. The mirror-like river snaked around the hills above and next to us, before continuing its forged path around the next bend and out of sight. On either side of the river, steep banks, cut by time, were covered in untamed forest that seemed to come alive with every sound. Its magnificence reflected in the river at the bottom.

The bank that my friends and I were now landing on was one of the only ones big enough for all of us in the vicinity of a couple of kilometers. On the other side of the bank, a steep mud track lead to the Marae and the campground in which we would be staying that night.

With a huff, I placed my paddle on the rocks and stretched myself back. My back, shoulders and arms were sorer than they had ever been in my life and yet I felt better than I ever had.

"We're here!" one of the girls shrieked, her voice giving off her trill of joy. Around me the rest of the group were either moving their canoes onto the bank or hoping out. Everyone was happy to have another day done on what was turning out to be a fun but tiring trip.

Reaching forward, I pulled off my spray skirt, popping it off the rim of the kayak as I heaved my self up and out of the boat. I stumbled slightly before quickly regaining my footing on the rocks.

"You okay Alex?" Alex Wilton, one of my friends, asked, his voice slightly concerned as he hoped out of his boat. Alex and I had been mates since year 9, having sheared a room for the first term at boarding school. Having the same name had helped.

"I'm good." I replied quickly, annoyed at my clumsiness. "Just a short trip, went to Paris," I added with a laugh as I reached into the Kayak and bought out my jandals, which were drenched. I slipped one of them on with a sigh, the skirt may have been able to stop the majority of water but it was still not waterproof. Water had entered the kayak throughout the day and now everything I had stored in the kayak was wet. '_Oh well_,' I thought bitterly as I wondered how long it would take this to dry. '_She'll be right_.'

Gently picking up the jandel I began to put it on, expecting the same cold and squishy felling of wet foot, it wasn't there. I looked closer touching it, definitely dry, confused as to how it was now as dry as the Sahara. "Must have been dry to begin with," I told myself trying to make sense of the situation whilst ignoring the feeling that was telling me different, that it was definitely _not _dry before. "It must have been in a part of the boat that stayed dry" I wounded about checking the boat before realizing that if I didn't get moving soon I would be sleeping on sharp sticks. Forgetting about it, I began to sort out my gear.

After moving the kayak higher up the bank to stop it from being washed away, I lightly jogged to Jacob and Pun's canoe. Because of the odd number of people on the trip, one of us had to take a one-man kayak rather than a two-person canoe. Being the most experience kayaker, I had been the one chosen. However, the kayak was too small to carry my gear, which as a result had been placed in their canoe.

"Durkin," Pun greeted using my last name or common nickname. "How can you run after that?" Pun was an international student from Thailand, his dark hair and yellow skin easily betraying that fact. I first meet him in year 8 at Huntley and like Alex; he had become a good friend. Not a close friend, but one who you can rely on for help and support. He was very intelligent, something that we both shared and respected in each other, and despite English being his second language he could spell far better than most people (including me) could. God I hate spelling.

"He does kayaking as a sport Pun," Jacob grunted as he heaved one of the storage barrels out of the boat and pretty much dropped on the stones. Pun and I quickly began to help as Jacob continued. "He probably knows some technique that makes it easier." Jacob was Pun's opposite in many ways. He was Kiwi like me with blond hair and a tall build. A keen and talented rower he defiantly knew the advantage of technique over strength. Sadly, he wasn't up with Pun and me in the classroom but on the sports field he would kick our butts any day.

I grabbed one of the barrels and began to make my way up the beach and on to the dirt track. The barrels were heavy and awkward to carry especially up a narrow, steep and slippery track, with Jacob right behind me and Pun right behind him it would not have turned out well if I slipped.

Luckily, I didn't but after four successful trips up the track my arms were beginning to remind me I had just kayaked 30 kilometers. At long last I bought the last off my stuff up to the campsite. It was an area about the size of half the size of a football pitch and slightly steeped. Aside from that it was completely flat and soft from the grass. Beyond it laid the Marae, which included a cookhouse and, despite the fact we weren't using it, a sleeping house.

The next half an hour was a frenzy as everyone began to set up camp. We still had a few hours of day left but there was a lot that needed doing before dark hit: unpacking, putting up tents, washing, cooking dinner, etc. I had finished unpacking and was almost through setting up my tent when one of the instructors, Mr. Ells, wondered over.

"How are you Alex?" he asked passing me the peg that I was about to reach for. Mr. Ells was one of the main outdoor instructors. He was thin, thanks to the amount of biking he did, and his hair was always shaved to a number 1. He was one of my favorite teachers as well as my math teacher, and we got on well. I pushed the peg in to ground with my foot and clapped my hands as if to say "Finished."

"I'm fine sir." I answered truthfully as I admired my handy work, though it wasn't the first time I had put a tent up.

"Enjoying yourself?"

The inquiry made me laugh. Enjoying myself? 'Enjoying' was an understatement! I had never had so much fun. However, I never have been much of a talker and so I answered, "Yes sir. This is great!"

Mr. Ells smiled, seemingly happy with my answer. "Good to hear. Now I'm taking a swim in the river in five minutes, so if you want to wash yourself you'd better get ready. It doesn't look _that_ cold!" He added the last part as a joke, being April it was well into autumn and the rivers were _definitely_ not warm.

With Mr. Ells gone, I reached into my tent and after some fumbling around; I found a small tube of hotel body-wash and another of shampoo. This trip took us far away from showers so we had to use the best we had: the river.

I often wonder, if I hadn't gone for a wash that night, would the succession on events still have happen. It's amazing how some little decision can affect your life in big ways. I don't believe in a pre-planed destiny but sometimes I can't help but be willing to observe the probability of the idea. There's my open mind for you.

Changing into my togs, I gently made my way back to the river. The canoes (and the kayak) had been roped up to a tree next to the track to stop them from being washed away. The stones jabbed at my bare feet as I made my way to the river and wadded in.

The cold water stung like a knife as I walked deeper. Further out Alex was already swimming along with two girls, Rongo and Gorgide. Rongo was in the process of shampooing her black hair. She was part Maori, a tall thin girl who would catch the eye of any man who saw her, her face only broken by a faint scar. It was one of those scars that takes years to notice. I had always liked Rongo but I was respectful enough to keep my feelings to my self and our relationship was one of good friends.

"Hey Alex!" Gorgide's voice was still hyperactive after a day of exercise. Where did that girl get her energy? Gorgide was Rongo's BFF and if opposites attract then theirs was the prime example. Gorgide was Australian born, blond and white skinned. Like Rongo, she was pretty, but while Rongo could handle responsibility, Gorgide was a natural born rebel. That said she was still a kind person who I got on well with.

"Hey everybody," I answered as I reached the group. We were about a quarter of the way across and despite the river not being that strong here, I would have expected there to be more current, but I couldn't fell any pull. I noticed the ripples around the rest of the group. Yes, there was current but why wasn't…

SPLASH!

A wall of cold water suddenly smacked into my face. Through fuzzy vision, I could see Gorgdie and Rongo giggling like they were twelve years old. They must have been finding it funny, and I couldn't blame them. Splashing somebody was fun especially if they weren't expecting it

I blinked to clear my vision before asking the obvious, question that in reality didn't really deserve to be answered: "Hey, what was that for?"

"Just starting from where we left off Alex," Gorgdie explained, before pushing her hand forward and splashing me again. I dodged. Earlier in the day I had got into a splash fight with Rongo and Gorgdie's canoe, which had been great fun and had ended with all three of us soaking wet.

'_Well_,' I thought, '_if they want to continue this, so be it!_' Drawing my hand back, I moved it back to splash Gorgdie in retaliation. What happen next would change my life forever.

Ever splashed someone before? Okay imagine that wave in about the same size of a medium surfing wave and you'll get roughly about the same as what a sent at Gorgdie.

I didn't really see what the splash/wave did as it hit Gorgdie, Rongo and Alex. Its size quickly made them invisible to me. All I saw was a giant wall of water moving away from me as the water behind and to the sides of me washed in to fill the gap. If I hadn't been so worried about my friends and so confused as to what was going on I might have wondered why it didn't affect me.

I watched the wave disappear and for a few nerve-racking seconds the river was empty. Then Alex then Rongo and finally Gorgdie burst to the surface, gasping for breath like they had never breathed before. They had floated over 25 meters upstream from me and although I couldn't quite make it out they seemed to be looking at me with a mixture of confusion, horror and amazement. On the beach Mr. Ells and group of students where giving me similar looks and where as before you could have heard the shouts of teenagers an unnatural silence suddenly fall as everyone seemed to be unsure of what to make of it.

Finally, Alex broke the silence. "What the _hell_ was that?"

….

**_Location_**_: Xavier's Manson, Bayville, New York, U.S.A._

Charles Xavier couldn't help but feel happy as he felt his mind gently re-entering his body. True, he felt deep concern for the young mutant he had discovered and he knew he would have to move quickly in order to help the child before he accidently caused anything. Nevertheless, he felt happy.

The room around him returned to his vision as he removed his Cerebro helmet from his bald head. The room was sphere-shaped with grey walls that converged into the ceiling, with a single platform, starting at a door in one of the walls lead, to the center of the chamber. Xavier still could not help but marvel at what his intelligence had allowed him to build.

His fingers flexed and began to move as he quickly began to bring up the statistics on the mutant he had found. He was still amazed he had even noticed the child. When the mutant had first used his powers it had been so faint that he had thought it was a glitch. But Charles had not become a Professor by not investigating things when he noticed them, and upon closer inspection he had witnessed the child's display of power. Charles couldn't help but think of the potential the child had.

With a final tap of the keyboard the mutants statistics appeared on screen and Charles quickly read and re-read what followed, his mind quickly taking in what was there.

**_Name_**_: Alexander (Alex) Durkin-Wright._

**_Age_**_: 16_

**_Nationality_**_: New Zealander_

**_Home Address_**_: 10 Pohangina Road, Ashhurst_

**_School_**_: Wanganui Collegiate School_

**_Description_**_: Tall, white skin, short un-kept black hair, brown eyes_

By the time Charles had finished reading his mind was already thinking of his next move. He needed to bring Alex to the mansion as soon as possible but New Zealand wasn't just at the end of the street. '_What will be the best way?_' he thought deeply.

Another half a minute past before he settled on what he saw as the best a plan of action. Reaching out with his mind he found the people he needed. '_Kurt, Kitty, Logan, Storm,_' he called, his telepathic voice sounding even more Oxford-like than his vocal one. '_I need the four of you down in Cerebro._'

As he waited for the group to arrive Charles did some more research. According to records left by his school, Alex was a keen student, Charles was happy to note the boy's keen interest in genetics, as well as a keen outdoorsman and participator in Tai Chi.

"What's this about, Chuck?" The growl came from behind him and Charles turn calmly to face a large, gruff, Canadian mutant with black hair and a body that looked like it hadn't left the gym for much of the last hundred years. Seeing Charles wasn't answering, Logan continued. "What have elf and half-pint done now?"

Behind Logan stood three people. The first two were teenagers; Katherine "Kitty" Pryde, a 16-year-old girl with pale skin and brown hair tied into a ponytail behind her head. Kurt Wagner was also 16, but the physical similarities ended there. He had tridactyl hands as well as two toed feet with legs that had two bends in them, like the hind legs of many animals. He had mid-length indigo hair, as well as dark blue fur covering much of his body. He also had a spaded, prehensile tail, which, like the rest of his body, was blue.

The third person in the group was one of Charles's oldest friends: Ororo Munroe. African born, Ororo had rich dark skin, which contrasted beautifully with her long white hair. She was tall and towered over the two youngsters, who were squirming and looking at the Professor with confusion and worry.

"We haven't done anything!" Kitty protested. Charles realized that bringing these certain people together in this certain place had resulted in people jumping to conclusions.

He quickly decided to clear up the confusion. "Kitty, Kurt, the two of you, although it is a shock, haven't done anything wrong." He turned and motioned towards the screen as the group stepped closer, the teens relieved they weren't there to be punished.

After reading through what was on the screen Logan turned back to the Professor and spoke. "So what's the deal? You want us to go, pick him up and bring him here?" Xavier didn't have to be telepathic to know that Logan was already figuring out Alex's strengths and weaknesses.

"The poor child must be terrified after what's happened to him." Ororo spoke like a true mother, always feeling the most for children even if it was a bit melodramatic.

"Correct on both accounts," Charles spoke calmly. "He may not be terrified but he'll be very confused as to what's happening.

Therefore, Kitty, Kurt," The two teenagers began to pay more attention, "you two are about Alex's age. You'll have more of a chance of talking to him about this in the state he'll be in. Logan, Storm." He addressed Ororo by her codename as a form of formality. "You two will talk to his parents and try and persuade them to send him here." He stopped before adding. "Any questions?"

"Yeah," Kitty answered. "Where's New Zealand?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Arrivals

"_Nothing is as it seems."_

-Christopher Pike

**_Location_**_: Auckland International Airport_

"Vow!" Kurt exclaimed, in a voice of mock shock as he, Kitty, Logan and Ororo walked swiftly through the Auckland international Airport, bags slung over their shoulders. "Zis place really _does_ exist!"

Kitty sighed and resisted the urge to punch Kurt… _again_. She focused on the upcoming Customs desk. Ever since she had asked where this country, New Zealand, was, Kurt had been going out of his way to tease her about it. All through packing, he had mention she should bring her togs, as they would be landing in the ocean and through the entire flight he had continually either checked his life-jacket or asked a crew member where they were flying. She had never thought she would get sick of punching him, but after about the 14 _thousandth_ time she gave up.

Looking around she wondered why it was such a big deal to have _no_ knowledge of this country. This was supposably the "biggest airport in the country", but compared to other airports back in America, it was _tiny_. Placing a hand on the pocket of her brown jeans, to make sure her passport was still there, she looked around. The airport was just like any other airport. The carpet, brown with a wavy green line, was clean and fresh. The walls were covered in signs warning against the smuggling of goods, though Kitty couldn't help but notice that it focused more on food than weapons. Leading up to the five Customs desks was a line of people herded by zigzagging dividers. Beyond the Customs, people walked back and forward on their way to different places, depicted by the signs overhead.

"Let it be elf," Logan, as gruff as ever, chided Kurt as he motioned for the group to join the line of arrivals. His voice showed his growing annoyance for his charges' continual bickering. "Just because you where smarter than her for _once_ does _not _mean she isn't smarter than you in every _other_ area."

Kurt huffed. "Alright, _fine_. I'm stoping." He leaned against the divider, utterly bored now that his only bit of fun had been removed. Kitty looked at Logan, her smile easily showing her gratitude. The line began to move at a steady pace, but a steady pace wasn't fast enough in Logan's opinion.

"Why couldn't we take the jet?" he muttered to Ororo. He already knew the answer, but he needed something to do, and starting a conversation seemed the best option. "I mean we did for half-pint here." He motioned to Kitty who seemed to have made a truce with Kurt and the two were now talking about the best way to talk to Alex.

Ororo looked at the big man beside her. She could understand his annoyance at having to wait in lines at Customs, but it was a small price to pay. "Because," she answered repeating the very logical reason the Professor had given, "Kitty only lived an hour away by flight. It would take over _nine_ hours to get here in the jet, and face it Logan, which would you prefer: a nine hour trip in the blackbird, or a 13 hour flight in business class? You have to admit the blackbird isn't the most comfy and relaxing way to travel."

"I wouldn't have minded either way." Logan answered truthfully. Years of soldiering meant that he was used to long flights in uncomfortable ships.

"You might not have minded," Ororo told him, "but the rest of us prefer to travel in comfort, and I'm sure Alex will want to travel in comfort as well."

"Yes, _Alex_." Logan was happy the conversation had led to something relevant, not like last time he had tried to have a conversation and had to put up with Ororo talking about New Zealand's exotic plants for half an hour. "So how do we convince this kid's parents to let him 'leave the nest', as it were?" He moved forward with the line walking back.

"That," Ororo stated, "will not be hard. Alex has been going to boarding school since he was ten. The problem is going to lie in the educational difference of going school in America rather than the distance from home. As well as the added problem of convincing them that the mansion is the best place for a mutant."

Logan nodded as the group of people in front of them reached the Customs desk. He was still deciding what would be the best way to talk to Alex's family and was about to continue the conversation with Ororo, when Kitty suddenly burst out laughing drawing mixed attention from the rest of the waiting people. Ororo reach forward and grasped Kitty's arm, the pressure telling her to stop.

Once she had stop Ororo looked at the young girl sternly. "What is so funny?" She asked, her gaze telling Kitty she wanted a quick answer.

Kitty had trouble not smiling when she answered. "The guy in front said he was going to a place called Fuckapapa." Beside her, Kurt was on the verge of laughing as well, only his desire not to annoy Logan any more at present stoping him.

Logan himself had to suppress a smile at the common mistake. "It's Whakapapa, half-pint." Having travelled to this country many times in his life, he knew how the native language was spoken. "It's a ski-field in the centre of the North Island, not as nice as the ones in Canada but probably the best here."

"I still zink it is highly amusing," Kurt commented as the apparent skiers in front moved through the metal detectors. Turning, he made his way to the desk with the other three in his wake. The young man sitting behind it looked like he would rather be in the depths of hell than at his current desk. Kurt summarised that sitting at a boring desk all day watching people go on holiday would do that to someone.

"Evening," Ororo greeted as she pushed pass Kitty and Kurt to get at the desk. Having just glanced at her watch she knew that their next flight left in just over an hour and she didn't want to waste time.

The young man brushed his hand through blond hair and sighed before asking. "Are the four of you together?" Despite having been in the military, sometimes Logan couldn't stand protocol. Of course they were together! That's why they weren't asking each other to get back in the cue.

"Yes," Ororo answered, her voice not betraying the fact she was also annoyed at the obvious question. "This is my husband Logan," she pointed at the big man beside her, "and our adoptive kids Kurt and Katherine." To add effect she ruffled Kitty's hair, the group had quickly decided that Ororo's skin colour would have raised questions if they had tried to pull Kitty and Kurt off as being her real children and so the cover had been changed so the kids were adopted.

The Customs man seemed to accept the story and asked the next protocol question. "So are you here on business or tourists?"

"Tourists," Ororo answered with another glance at her watch. '_No'_ she told herself. '_We have plenty of time, so long as we keep moving._' "We're heading down to the Manawatu, see the wind farms and the gorge. Show the kids how technology and nature can co-exist." Again, the desire to see locations in Alex's immediate area would remove possible suspicion.

As Ororo continued to sort out their details, Kurt asked Logan the question that both he and Kitty were dying to ask. "Vhy are zey so vorried about fruit getting zrough?

Kitty nodded in agreement. "Yeah Mr. Logan, shouldn't they be worried about bombs or something?" At the desk, Ororo motioned for their passports so while Logan thought of an answer he slipped his out of his pocket and handed it to her as the two young students did the same.

"Well," Logan sighed annoyed at the amount of questions his charges inquisitive minds were bringing forward. "Why don't you ask _Alex_ that question? It could be a good way to start a conversation with him."

Back at the desk, Ororo had finished sorting out the details. "… And if you would all place your bags on the scanner and walk through the detector one at a time." The man a the desk finished explaining holding out their passports to take.

Logan grunted as he took his passport back and placing his black backpack on the scanner walked through the metal detector fully knowing what was going to happen. Another reason he disliked airports was the hindrance and reminder of the Weapon-X program.

BEEP!

The machines electronic sound declared the presences of metal, of Adamantium, on Logan. He sighed gruffly as one of the officers started forward a look of suspicion on his face. "Flamin' toys," he muttered feeling the six metal shaped claws housed.

"Could you step over here, mate?" the officer asked although his tone spoke that it was not and option. Logan walked over, out of the corner of his eye he watch Kitty, Kurt and Ororo walk through the detector before stoping and watching for what he would do. As Logan reached the officer, the man spoke again. "Please empty your pockets," he ordered whilst unclipped a hand-held metal detector from his belt.

Logan had nothing in his pockets and not wanting to waste time, quickly explained the situation. "It's nothin' I'm carrryin'. It's _me_." The officer looked at him oddly so Logan continued. "I've got metal implants in my bones." He used the story he had long ago created. "Your detector is reactin' to them. My medical certificates are in my passport," he finished holding it out to the officer.

The officer took a look at the passport and nodded. "Well everything seems to be in order Mr…" He flicked to the front of the passport "…Logan." He handed Logan back his passport and before moving on added, "Have a good day, mate."

"Yeah, you too," Logan muttered as he re-joined the group. Kitty, now that the possible crisis was over was begging Ororo to let them go to one of the shops and was not taking "no" for an answer, despite the reply becoming continually more frustrated. Kurt, for his part, was asking if they could find some place to eat.

"For god's sake you two," Ororo yelled as she put her hands on her hips and towered over the youngsters, "_no_ means _no_! Katherine, we don't have time to shop, and Kurt they'll have something on the plane." Normally Ororo would have ignored the annoyance the two bought but the 13-hour flight was driving her and Logan's tempers short.

Kitty looked at the carpet. She only wanted to look a one shop. She was just about to say that it wasn't fair when Logan placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can check out shops later half-pint, but right now we need to move." He looked at Ororo. "Ororo how long do we have."

"Fifty minutes." Ororo answered. "Kitty, Kurt, I'm sure there will be shops and food in the departure lounge, but can you wait until we're there?" The two children nodded. "Good." Ororo sighed, happy that _that_ was over. She turned and began to quickly lead the group to the domestic airport, whilst continually looking at her watch.

Unseen by the four X-Men, a young teen in one of the shops stopped pretending to look at the shelf of gift cards. Gently raising his wrist as if to rub something off bought it up to his mouth, he pressed a button on his watch and spoke into it. "This is Spotter Four to base do you copy, over."

The radio crackled and a voice like a diamond, cold, hard, clear and heartless, spoke. "Base to Spotter Four, this better be good. Already had one of you try and order pizza."

The man thought carefully about how to reply. He knew his boss and she was not one to annoy. "Four X-men have arrived: Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm and Shadowcat. Awaiting orders. Do I engage?"

"No," the voice replied. "Do not engage unless it is _certain_ they are trying to take the boy, and even then only if the boy looks like he is going to join. Follow them and keep Alex safe, he is very important." The boy smiled, it made sense. No used starting a fight that could harm civilians. Best wait and try to warn this guy, Alex, on how dangerous the X-Men were, without a fight.

"Very well," the teen answered as he picked up his bag and prepared to follow the small group of villains. "You know best."

"You would do well to _remember_ that, Mr. Guthrie," the voice spoke. "You would do well to remember that."

….

**_Location_**_: Home. Two Hours later_

No mater how many times I replayed the events in my mind I still could not make sense of it. I told myself it was impossible for what seemed the hundredth time in the past few days. The force required to move the amount of water that had hit Alex, Rongo and Gorgdie was beyond human capabilities. There was no _way_ I could have done it, was there? Yet, the water had moved with my hand as if I was controlling it and the water that had flowed into fill the displacement it hadn't affected me at all. I just stood there and the water moved around me as if I was protected by some force. It made no sense. What _was_ I?

I gently pushed myself up on my elbow on my soft double bed. The bed took up most of the green painted room leaving little floor space after you added my desk, bookshelf, wardrobe and drawers. Outside, the clear blue sky allowed the sun to come through the window, the bright sunny day with singing birds was separated from me by just a sheet of glass, but I was in no mood to go out and enjoy it. The rest of the trip had passed without incident, although everyone had given me a leper sense of space. I guess, like me, none of them knew what to make of it. Neither did my parents; I almost hoped Mr Ells hadn't told them. Upon meting us at the end of the trip, they hurried me into their car, almost forgetting my gear. The ride home had been an interesting affair. Questions had been asked, question to which I had no answer.

Now I laid on my bed, we had decided, or more my _parents_ had decided, that at the momentary denial was the best option. My mum just seemed happy that I was okay. Dad, well judging by some of the questions that he asked, such as 'what were you feeling when it happened?', 'Did the things feel different somehow?', I got the feeling he knew more than he was telling me.

Outside I heard a car pull up the drive, its wheels crunching the stones as it made the journey down the driveway. '_Probably someone from my dad's work_,' I told myself, '_none of my business_'. Lying back on my back, I went back to my thoughts. School started today. I wish I was there, but after my mates saw what happen I couldn't help but see the logic in staying home, even if I didn't want to.

There was a quiet knock and the door of my room opened revealing my little brother Nic. Four years younger than me, Nic sheared my dark black hair, large structure and brains. However Nic lacked my love for running and walking and thus as a result was a little on the porky side. Still, he was a great kid even if he _was_ highly annoying.

He surveyed me for a moment before speaking. "There's, like, some people in the kitchen, they, like, say they want to talk to you." Nic had a funny habit of saying 'like' way to often when he spoke. If I had been in the mood, I might have felt compelled to tease him about it but I was far to absorbed to even consider the idea.

Straining, I pulled myself into a sitting position before asking in a voice of annoyance, "What the hell do they want to talk about?" In truth I didn't really care. All I cared about was getting back to my thoughts so that I might try and ignore this whole unexplainable situation. Gods, why couldn't it and these people just go away?

Nic shrugged. "Don't know," he answered flatly. "They, like, said that it was to be discussed with you. So you, like, better go and, like, talk to them." Nic seemed to register my unhappiness and tried to cheer me up with a joke. "One of them, like, sounds German, so, like, whatever you do, do not mention the war." It was an old joke in our family, we had nothing against Germans but like all Kiwi's we liked to take the piss out of everything.

I got to my feet, subconsciously stretching after lying on my bed for two solid hours. I sighed and looked down at Nic. "Are mum and dad home?" Until recently, mum and dad had worked from home, having an office in an old, renovated wool shed. However, the amount of people they employed had grown to the point that they could no longer all fit and as a result, the office had been moved to Palmerston North.

Nic moved his head side to side in answer. "No. They won't be back until, like, three. Remember, we're taking the sheep to be shorn." Even under what felt like house-arrest I still wasn't exempted from everyday farm work, not that I really complained. Shearing was fun and it would give me something to take my mind off things. Nic gave me a questioning look before asking. "So are you, like, going to talk to them or not?"

With a sigh that showed how annoyed I was, I nodded. "Might as well go and see what they want." Striding past Nic I quickly made my way into the kitchen. Our home kitchen consisted of to perpendicular walls with a silver oven at the vertex. Along one wall sat the stove and the pantry, underneath the stove were drawers with the normal things you would find in a kitchen: pots and pans. The drawers and the pantry were coloured a deep shade of blue. The bench top, excluding the stove was made of grey, was black marble. Along the other wall sat the sink in another marble bench top, underneath the sink was a dishwasher and more drawers. Next to the bench was a fridge. In the middle of the kitchen was an island bench with a varnished wooden top. The bench was shaped like a right-angled triangle with a curved hypotenuse; along this curved part were four bar stools, which we normally used for eating breakfast.

The kitchen and everything was perfectly normal, except that four people who I had never meet were now making their selves at home. As I entered the group turned and looked at me, all conversations died down, plunging the room into silence. I stopped, frozen in the kitchen doorway by the silence and uncertainty of the situation, and quickly began to take in the image of the four people in front of me.

Naturally, as a male, my focus was first drawn towards the girl. She was around my age, perhaps slightly older and was, in every sense of the word, beautiful. Her pale white skin fitted perfectly with her chocolate brown hair, which was drawn into a ponytail with red beads. She sat on the closest bar stool smiling sweetly; her blue eyes sparkled in the light. She wore a lime-green shirt and light brown jeans both of which left part of her mid-rift uncovered, exposing her belly button.

Not wanting to seem rude, I quickly moved my attention to the boy sitting next to her. Like the girl, he was also around my age, also white skin, though slightly darker. He had the face of somebody who was always having fun, always happy; who just by looking at him would make you feel life was far better. His hair, which was long for a boy, was indigo. He wore a green t-shirt and very light brown trousers that looked a couple of sizes to big for him. He also appeared to have a very advanced watch; I made a mental note to talk to him about it.

There was something odd about the third person in the room and it took me a moment to place it. I quickly realized that it was the fact I had never seen a dark skinned person, as young as this women at least, with such white hair. The look suited her, as did her tall height and clothes, from which I quickly decided her favourite colour must be purple. She was dressed far smarter then the two children were. She wore a semi-dark purple jacket over a pale purple shirt. She also wore very dark purple jeans as if she couldn't have worn another colour. She stood by the fridge, her eyes moving between the two kids and the fourth person in the room.

The man, who the woman kept looking at, was leaning against the stove in the corner. As I had entered he had quickly focus his gaze on me, holding it on me strong and steady, like a search light during the London Blitz might have held a Germen plane. His gaze reminded me, momentarily, of my dad's and in that moment a part of me, a silly part of me that is, wondered whether this man might be my dad's long lost and forgotten twin. However, that was a silly part of me, a part that had been watching far two much TV.

As I began to take into account his physical, I began to understand that that the silly part of me did in fact have a point; the man did look a lot like my dad. Like my dad, he was big in height and in build, a build that one could only get after years of constant physical work. His hair was black and sleek and his skin was white, also like my dad but it was the aura, which this man gave off, which gave which bared the closest resemblance. My Dad was one of the most assertive people I knew, the look he gave people when he was angry scared me even at 16 and this guy was the same. Like my dad he didn't even have to raise a fist or yell, he just had to look at you, and that was all it took.

The similarities however stopped there. My dad, who after years of being behind a desk, wasn't in the shaped he used to be, this man looked like he was some sort of mercenary or something. He wore a jet black jacket (I made another mental note to ask him were he got it so I could buy one), dark blue shirt and pants and black army boots. Everything from his posture to his cloths gave the same message: "Don't mess with me."

After what seemed years, the woman broke the silence. "Good evening." Her voice was soft, one of calmness and kindness, a voice of a mother. Her accent was American with a hint of what I guessed was Middle Eastern. "You must be Alex." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. She moved from her place by the fridge and along the bench, coming to a stop next to the two teenagers, all the time, like the others, staying completely focused on me.

Years of having my parents colleagues show up randomly had taught my how to be polite to strange people. "Yes," I answered, "I'm Alex. And you are?"

"My name is Ororo Monroe," the women replied before pointing at the two kids, "this is Kitty and Kurt," then at the man, "and that there is Logan." As she pointed to them each of the three nodded.

"Well it's nice to meet you," I greeted and, as I was still not sure what these people wanted, asked. "Can I help you with anything?" I decided that the quicker I got to the point, the quicker I could get this over with and get back to my thoughts.

There was a few moments of silence before the man, Logan, answered. "Well kid." His voice was gruff and he had an accent, which I couldn't place. "Since you asked, could ya tell us if anythin' odd has happen to you lately?"

I stood in shock; it was almost as he, and by logic all of them, _knew_. '_Shit_,' I thought to my self as a million questions poured into my head. '_What if they know? How will denial work? Are they here to arrest me or help me? I wounder what Kitty's like? If they're here to help me, should I deny it? How do I figure out what they want without telling them?_'

Realizing that Logan wanted an answer, I took the only option I had; I sidestepped the question. "What do you mean by odd?" I asked, hoping it might give me more of an idea of why these people were interested. "I mean, what we consider odd will, in theory, differ based on different ethnic back groups, pair groups, parents etc. What you consider odd could easily be what I consider normal."

"Vat he means." Kurt's accent was clearly German. As he spoke, I made my way over to one of the stools and sat down. "Has anything…"

"… Unexplainable happen to you recently," Kitty finished, cutting Kurt off. Her accent was also American, though it differed from Mrs Monroe's. She lent against her fist and added. "Something which is humanly impossible."

"Like what?" I asked, side-stepping further.

Kitty sighed and taking her head off her fist, she answered in a matter-of-fact voice. "Like this." With that, like a ghost, she moved her hand through the bench, as if it wasn't even _there_.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: Powers

_Accept everything about yourself - I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and the end-no apologies, no regrets._

-Henry Kissinger-

**_Location_**_: Home_

As Kitty's hand move through the wooden bench, like it was nothing but thin air, my mind was torn between two emotions and their subsequent actions. The first, what a shock, wanted me to jump very quickly off the bar stool and put as much distance between my self and this… this ghost girl as rapidly as I could. The second was interest at this seemingly unexplainable phenomenon and the want to learn more. After a very short debate, my interest triumphed and I watched amazed as Kitty, with no resistance, bought her hand out of the bench. I lent forward, running my palm over the smooth surface, just to check it was still solid. It was.

I turned my head slowly and looked at Kitty, my eyes telling her and the other three in the room the very question I was about to ask. "That's," I said, my voice showing my shock. "That's fascinating. How… how did you do that?" I rubbed the bench again to be sure.

Kitty lent forwarded and her hand moved through mine. It was the strangest felling I had ever felt… apart from that three-day-old pizza, but let's not go there. It was strange, because it was if I was felling nothing, no gas, no liquid, no solid. The matter in Kitty's and my hand were moving past each other with no effect, as if one was a simple image.

Ms. Monroe sat down next to me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Alex, Kitty has the ability to phase through solid matter." Over by the stove Logan seemed to have gotten thirsty because he helping himself to a glass of water. Ms. Monroe continued. "It allows her to…"

"… Manipulate the vibration rates of the atoms in her body and a solid," I finished, "thereby allowing her and that particular solid to pass through each other, with no effect." Kurt and Ms. Monroe looked at me in amazement at this apparent knowledge, so I quickly explained. "I read it in a book once; it was supposedly a future application for a laser. I also watch Stargate." I looked back at Kitty. "'Future.' Last I checked it was still the present." It still made no sense and my mind was struggling to comprehend.

Ms. Monroe seemed to notice and continued to explain. "Kitty's ability is bought on via a mutation in her DNA. I'm sure you know what a mutation is." She said is if trying to test my knowledge on the subject.

I was happy to comply. "A mutation is a change in the base sequence in the DNA, such as the removal of an A-base causing a frame shift. The result is a different sequence of RNA forming, which the results in a different sequence of amino acids, which _then_ results in a new protein being formed." I had always found mutation and evolution interesting. "But mutations are little changes which over time, which with all the harmful ones being removed of course lead to evolution. That," I nodded towards Kitty," wasn't small."

"Vow," Kurt muttered in amazement, "your quite ze scientist." He turned from me to Kitty. "Better be careful Kit-Kat, you may have a rival."

Kitty ignored Kurt jibe and further explained. "Sometimes evolution leaps forward." Logan having got his drink placed it gently on the bench. "It's rare, only once every few hundred millennia, but it sometimes happens."

"Half-pint's right." I glanced over at Logan as be spoke, confused both at the fact he was yet to drink and at how Kitty could have got a nickname like 'Half-pint.' "Sometimes things, such as what happen to you, happen. Now you can either hide it Alex, or you can _face_ it." With those last words, he pushed the glass across the bench.

I stared at the glass, then at Logan, then back at the glass. It was a glass of water, nothing more, a tall cylinder type, filled almost to the top with 18 Celsius water. I stopped as I thought the last part. How had I known that? Still confused as to what I was supposed to do I looked back at Logan and stated. "I'm not thirsty."

"We don't want you to drink it," Ms. Monroe said reaching over and pulling the glass closer to me. "We want you to move it, without touching it." She spoke it so casually, as if moving things with out touching them was a daily occurrence.

"Move the glass," I repeated to make sure I had heard correctly. They really wanted me to do the impossible, move something without touching it but then again what was it as impossible as? As impossible as moving through solid matter.

"Well, the water _in_ the glass," Kitty corrected. "Move the water in the glass and that should move the glass itself," she explained as if she was giving cooking instructions, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. I looked to Logan, to Kurt, to Kitty, and to Ms. Monroe; all of them were watching me, waiting on me, waiting on me to do something that my mind kept telling me was impossible. Yet, it was also impossible to knock your mate 25 meters upstream during a splash fight, and it was impossible to move through solid matter. Suppose this _was_ a fragment of evolution, though the chances of a mutation such as Kitty's appearing suddenly was very improbable, not _impossible_, it could still happen. I gently bought my right hand up and looked at it, could the same thing that had happened to Kitty have happened to me? Had the improbable happened? A quote by Sherlock goes "If you eliminate the impossible, what ever remains, however improbable, must he the truth." I reached out for the glass. Me causing the wave on the river was improbable, but every other explanation was impossible, therefore, by logic, I _must_ have caused it.

I concentrated on the water, the clear liquid refracted the image of the bench on the other side, bending the light and making it look closer. I was still not sure what I was supposed to do. I suppose it was like asking an ex-blind man, to identify an object. I shut my eyes, trying to keep the image of the glass in my mind, trying to see it without sight. Suddenly, as if it was always there, I could. Even to this day I struggle to find a way to describe it; I guess it's like trying to explain color to someone blind from birth. It was just there and if I could just concentrate, visualize it moving…

CRASH!

My eyes flew open at the sudden sound and looked instantly to were the glass hand been. It was no longer there. Instead a very annoyed huff came from Logan. Looking up in response, I discovered where the glass had gone.

The entire front on Logan black jacket was socked. I do wonder why this was the first thing I notice because it had also been completely shredded by what was obviously shattering glass. He had slightly doubled over but he was clearly a man of high pain tolerance. "A little excessive," he growled before straitening up and smiling at me, "but good aim."

I barely heard him. I was staring at his chest, only now realizing what it had done, no, what _I_ had done. My chest thundered fast. My hands shook. My mind began to fog. I felt fear. I felt amazement. I felt uncertainty. I felt all these and more. I felt them all, all at once.

The kitchen sink exploded. The violent rush of water hit Logan. He hit the floor hard. Kitty screamed. Kurt disappeared. Reappearing beside Logan.

Ms. Monroe grabbed my hands. She held them fast, trying to hold them still "Alex!" Her voice was far off. Distant. "You must focus. Calm, child, calm." My eyes were unfocused. Everything seemed unreal. Fuzzy. There were more bangs. Pipes burst. The kitchen flooded. Logan was growling, Kurt was yelling. Why couldn't they all just go away?

BANG!

Logan smashed through the wall. Kurt vanished. Kitty flew through the cupboard. Gusts swept, surrounding Ms. Monroe. "Alex! Listen! Concentrate! Focus!" My head hurt. The words were far away. The rest of the world was to. It was there. It wasn't there. Nothing made sense. It all moved so fast. Water from the sink rose. Droplets began flying in random directions very fast.

"Like, what the…" A new voice. Nic. It was closer, yet, further in distance. I knew he was there. No idea how. He was suddenly flung straight at the wall. Like an arrow.

Kurt reappeared. He grabbed Nic. They both vanished. It suddenly hit me. I had nearly killed him. Nearly killed my own brother. I looked at the wall. Hadn't I?

"Alex!" Ms. Monroe's voice was clearer, closer than before. "This power! You can control it! Stop letting it control you!" Water sped around us, braking wood, smashing glass. "Calm your mind!"

It was after like having banged your head. Everything's fuzzy, then slowly it begins to clear. My heart slowed and things began to focus. The flying water slowed then fell to the floor. The floor that was covered in wood splinters and shades of glass. "That's it, Alex's, that's it." Her voice was softer yet I could hear it better. My head was still sore but it was from a strange exhaustion rather than emotions.

The kitchen was a mess. The sink lay on the floor, its metal twisted at odd angles and around it the cracked floor was covered in broken objects and water. Beyond the bench the far window and wall had been completely smashed, beyond that Logan was pulling himself, with much effort, to his feet. Splinters as large as butcher knifes had cut into his arms. He was glaring at me with a look that would have made me run to my dad for help, if I was not already scared of what dad would do when he saw the kitchen. Kurt appeared beside me, holding a very confused and frightened Nic. I was about to try and explain when Kitty's head popped up in the centre of the bench, with a face of obvious annoyance. He looked at her with wide eyes, which slowly round back and he fainted in Kurt's arms. Problem solved.

I suddenly realized how exhausted I was, it was a strange sense of exhaustion, my muscles felt fine and yet I felt like I'd just run a marathon. I swayed slightly and placed my hand on the bench for stability. Kitty looked concerned and, phasing out of the table, questioned Ms. Monroe. "Is he, like, okay?"

Over by the, until recently, wall, Logan answered, with a voice somewhere between anger and annoyance. "Not for long." He began to walk quickly forward, how he was still able to stand let alone walk was beyond me. He balled his hands into fist and every mussel in his body tensed, I was too tired to even think about moving or the fact he was going to kill me. Fortunately, Ms. Monroe came to the rescue. "Logan!" It wasn't loud but something about it made the man stop and grunt. "If you kill everyone who throws you through a wall, there'll be none one left." I wondered whether she was being serious, then decided that, given this guy's attitude, she probably was.

Logan huffed, like killing me was still his preferred choice, and unclenched his fists. "Point taken," he commented, and then he looked seriously at Ms. Monroe. "We need to talk. _Now_."

"Just stay calm." She told me before letting my hands go and walking over to talk to Logan. Kitty and Kurt tried to follow but Logan threw them a glair that said something like 'adult's only' so they quickly focused back on me. '_Great_,' I thought sarcastically, '_I just love being the center of attention._'

"What happened?" I asked Kitty. The last few minutes were still very fuzzy and I was confused as to what had happen. All I knew was that there was virtually nothing left unbroken in the kitchen and I had somehow, with this mutation, this power, caused it.

"You lost control," Kitty answered like it was a common occurrence.

"_Ja_," Kurt agreed "_Big_ time."

I looked at Kurt, my mind was still foggy but I was sure I of what I'd seen. I breathed deeply for a moment in an effort to keep my voice calm. "You teleported," I stated. "When Logan went through the wall you vanished. Speaking of which," I looked over at Logan and Mrs. Monroe who were in a deep discussion, I'm sure I heard my name and the word omega, "is he going to be ok?" The splinters were still in his arms.

"He'll be fine," Kurt said with certainty. "Logan has ze ability to heal, really fast. He also has heightened senses and six claw-like blades housed inside his arms." It took me a couple of seconds to fully get that. _Blades_. It wasn't the accent, he had definitely said 'blades'. "And you're right, I _can_ teleport. Good zing I can. Logan could survive being thrown through a wall, but I can't"

"I'm sorry… I… I didn't…" I tried to explain but all that came out was a stutter, I could have _killed_ them. I felt things fade slightly and I fought desperately to keep my self under control. They might not be so lucky next time. "I… didn't mean to… I…"

Kitty put her arm around me, which at any other time would have done anything but calm me down. "Don't worry about it," she said, as if it was a simple split glass of milk, not an entire room being destroyed. "At lest you, like, haven't run off. That's what I did when they first tried to recruit me." Kurt threw her a glance at the last part a glance that said "Too much info."

'Recruit'. Kitty had said 'recruit'. Recruitment for _what_? "That's why you came in the first place?" I asked, for the first time since we'd meet I was sure of myself, things were finally making sense. "To recruit me."

"Vell," Kurt's unease didn't help me the slightest. "Zat part comes later. Ve mainly want to help you learn to control your gift." At the word gift I glanced back at the kitchen. What type of gift allowed you to destroy a building? Only a _monster_ would want that.

"You need to learn to control it," Kitty explained, her voice saying every word like she'd heard it a thousand times. "At the moment, it controls _you_, and Alex," her sweet voice tensed," if you don't gain control of it, that," she nodded towards the wreckage, "will happen every time you get scared, angry or annoyed. We've come here to help you."

Kurt nodded in agreement before adding. "Ze rest of the stuff, like what we," another glare at Kitty, "are recruiting you for, you'll learn later." His tone left no room for argument, so I simply sighed and nodded. It didn't matter what they wanted me for. I needed help. I looked at Nic's unconscious body, his fright still showing clearly on his face. I'd nearly _killed_ him. The simple thought made me fell _sick_ inside. I looked over at Logan and Ms. Monroe, standing in the middle of the destroyed room. What if this happened at school or somewhere else? People would die and millions of dollars of damage would be dealt, all because of _me_. I needed to control this… this curse, whatever it was and there was only one way to do that.

"So what does this training involve?" My voice was growing more confident, reflecting my growing ease. I nodded to the two grown-ups. "Do they train us?"

"Them and the Professor," Kitty answered. Across the room Logan and Ms. Monroe were still talking in hushed tones.

"The who?" I asked. 'The Professor' wasn't very descriptive.

"Professor Charles Xavier." As Kurt said the name I got the funny feeling I'd heard it before, but I quickly dismissed it. I'd watched enough documentaries to know that there was a good chance I'd heard of him there. "He helps us learn how to control our gifts," I cringed at the word, "by allowing us to use them in control environments." The description was vague but I got the felling that, like most teaching methods, it was hard to understand until it was experienced first hand.

Across the room Ms. Monroe and Logan seemed to come to an agreement on something, I couldn't help but guess that something had to do with me, and made their way over to us. They were both looking at me with a slight degree of caution, and given recent developments, I couldn't blame them. "Alex," Ms. Monroe said calmly, how could they act so _calm_, "it is good to see that you're alright."

Next to her Logan began to pull the splinters out of his arms. As I watched the bleeding stopped as the holes closed, cells forming at an incredibly rapid rate. Even after everything I had seen it was still a shock, so it took me a couple of seconds, I was beginning to recover quicker, before I could say anything. "Logan I'm…" I wondered how best to put it and went with the simplest, "… sorry, about that."

Logan chuckled making me fell slightly happier at the fact he no longer wanted to kill me. Smiling he patted my gently on the shoulder. "Kiddo," He stated, "if I said sorry for every time I did somethin' like that, hell I'd have a one word vocabulary."

There was a sudden groan from the floor as Nic regain concisions. He looked at the Kitchen, at me, at the others, bewildered before asking. "Could someone, like, explain?"

Ms. Monroe's answer sounded rushed. "We'll explain on the way child. Alex, come." She turned and rather than make her way to the door, she took the easier root, making her way to the hole in the wall. Logan followed and I ran to keep up, leaving Kitty and Kurt to deal with Nic.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we clambered over what had once been the kitchen bench to get outside.

"Where do you think Kiddo?" Logan asked like it was obvious. "We need to talk to your parents." We made our way along the wooden veranda, over the brickyard and on to the gravel drive. Up a head was a completely black 7-seater van. Ms. Monroe was already starting the engine. Behind us, Kurt was helping Nic through the hole.

"Talk about what?" I questioned. I was slightly scared we were going to talk to them. A part, a not very _bright_ part, had hoped to keep recent events, the fact I'd destroyed the kitchen, from them. "The fact I'm a mutant, the fact you're here to help me or the fact I completely destroyed the front of the house?" Logan slid open back door and I quickly climbed in. By the time Logan had got on to the right side of the van and climbed in the passenger seat Kurt, Kitty and Nic, still asking for an explanation, were buckling up.

"To answer your question Kiddo," Logan answered, as he clicked his seatbelt in place and Ms. Monroe drove the van down the drive, "all three and a lot more." I sighed; I was back where I'd been a quarter of an hour ago (had it only been that long?), with a thousand impossible and unanswered questions. I looked sideways a Kitty, who smiled her same sweet smile. No, I wasn't back where I started. Yes, there were still a million things that didn't make sense, but looking at Kitty's face I could find the one thing that I had lacked before: _hope_.

…...

**_Location_**_: Home, 5 minutes later._

Samuel Guthrie rubbed the sweet off his face and through his long blond hair. His black combat boots crunched on the broken glass as he surveyed the room around him. Well, what _used_ to be a room at least. Things were not going well, thanks to Spotter Two needing to answer Nature's Call they had arrived late, just in time to see the X-Men, sadly with Alex, speed past. "They must have taken him by force," Sam reasoned allowed, more to himself than to the other two people in the room. "Storm could easily have done this damage in an attempt to frighten Alex into submission, or Alex did this in an unsuccessful self-defence. Either way at lest he knows their evil."

"Or," Spotter One added, "despite this he still went willingly, making our job even _harder_." Spotter One stood about two meters away from Sam with her index and middle finger pressed head against her scalp pushing back her knee length black hair. Like Sam, she was sixteen and wore a pink and black jumpsuit as body armour, but while Sam wore a plain grey shirt and blue jeans over his, she wore a frilly blue mini-dress and black tights matching well with her chocolate dark skin. Despite having worked with her for over a month Sam didn't know her name, then again she didn't know Sam's.

Sam growled in annoyance. Spotter One was telephonic and right now, she was supposed to be locating Alex by his cell phone, not giving ideas. Thankfully, it was Spotter Three who asked the next question, saving him from venting his annoyance even more. "Why would he go willingly?" Spotter Three was a mutant with the power of invisibility, however she was unable to turn it off and as a result spent all her time that way. Over the last month, Sam had learnt to indentify her presence through other means, but despite knowing she was female and the youngest of the spotter unit at 13, he knew nothing about her.

"Well," One started to answer while still thinking of one, "perhaps they were able to convince him to come despite whatever happened."

Sam nodded in agreement, it made some sense. These guys were professional villains and villains were always good manipulators. If Alex knew the X-Men were evil, the hard part would be getting him away but if he thought they were good then not only did they have to get him away but they also had to convince him to come with them, problems, problems. "Either way," Sam spoke softly, "the plans still the same: get to Alex, talk to him, and get him out."

As he spoke, Number Two thundered back into the room, having been searching the property for anyone else. "Four," he said using Sam's number. "That sounds more like objectives than a plan." The oldest in the unit at 19, Number Two was the unit's strong man, large and muscularly with the power of super strength. He wore nothing over his armoured jumpsuit. He was European in origin with black hair but, apart from having a little brother and very little education, Sam, like with the others, knew little about him.

Sam sighed. He could deal with Three's childish annoyance but he couldn't stand Two's obnoxious, stubborn attitude. Everyone else in the unit, including Three, was smarter than him. Couldn't he just deal with it? "I don't see you contributing anything," he shot back.

"I'm a doer," Two said admiring his muscles as if they were gold, "not a planner."

Sam was about to reply when one's hand suddenly flew from her head. "I've got them!" she declared and not waiting to be asked added. "They're heading towards Palmerston North." Palmerston North was a city about 20 minutes away, it also contained…

"Are they headed back to the airport?" Sam asked slightly scared, if they were, the window in which they could get Alex was closing fast.

"No." One replied. "Judging by the roads their taking I'd say their heading towards the centre. I don't know why but I'm working on hacking the phone's mike. It should allow me to hear what their saying." If there was one thing Sam liked about One, it was the fact she hardly ever required orders and had already seen what she needed to do.

"Keep me informed." Sam ordered knowing she would have anyway. "We're going to need all the information we can get." There were four of them and four X-Men: one each. The element of surprise would negate the X-Men's higher skill. With the odds even, any advantage was vital. "We better get going," he said, making his way towards the door. No sense clambering through a hole.

He was halfway across the room when One suddenly gasped. Her hand flew to her head and her eyes closed. Sam knew the trance to well. A side effect of One's telephonic ability allowed her to communicate with people's cell phones and thus the people themselves. She was quiet for a moment then her eyes snapped open, looking directly at Sam. "Four." Her voice had changed; all its confidence was gone, replaced by an uneasy fear. "It's _Her_. She's just about to land in Palmerston North."

Sam didn't need to be told who 'Her' was. 'Her' was their boss. They had no idea what her name was, only that she was powerful and utterly _ruthless_. One had every right to be scared because Her coming here could only mean _one_ thing. "She's not happy with our work?" It didn't make sense; less then three hours ago she'd been ecstatic with them. What had changed?

"No," One responded. "She's still delighted. However there's been a change of plan. They're coming to greet Alex _personally_."

"They?" Two asked. Like the rest of them he was unsure of what that meant. Last they'd heard they'd only been working for one person.

"Yes, 'they,'" One nodded, confirming what she'd previously said. "Her boss is coming as well." Her voice showed her surprise at this sudden realization, a felling shared by all in the room.

"Oh, another No-Name?" Three guessed, using an inside joke about the fact everyone's names where kept secret.

"No," One said, half surprised, half amused. "He's given us his name. His name is Shaw." Sam didn't know what it was about the name, but it made his skin crawl and the room feel colder. "Sebastian Shaw."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4. Sam.

_Nobody speaks the truth when there's something they must have._

-Elizabeth Bowen

**_Location_**_: Somewhere between Ashhurst and Palmerston_

"So like let me get this straight." Nic's voice had slowly become calmer as Ms. Monroe drove us closer to Palmerston North. "You're, like, some sort of mutant that can control water. They," if he pointed at the others I didn't see him, I'd spent the entire time either looking at the dark black leather seats of the van or looking out the window at the flat green and fenced farmland, "are mutants as well and there've come to help you." Outside the farmland remained flat for about 700 meters before running up a hill. It wasn't that big, at least not in comparison to the hills on the other side, but it was reasonable enough to be noticeable. Recently pregnant ewes dotted the landscape, as did cows, fences and sheds. Everything was so normal, the same as it had always been. So why was _I_ suddenly different, why was I suddenly a monster. "And now we're going to talk to dad." I looked down at the black carpet trying to amuse myself by using the repeating square pattern to make shapes. No such luck. Someone must have confirmed everything to Nic because he fell salient, for the first time in living memory. I went back to looking at the cars speeding past the window, people driving past. I wondered, what would they think if they knew, what would they _do_ if they knew, that in that van driving past was a boy, a monster who could destroy a room with a single thought.

A while later I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. "Alex," Kitty's sweet voice identified the person, "I know you're having trouble taking this in but you need to talk." I continued to look out the window, as we had entered the city the view had changed, closely packed one or two story suburban house's replacing the vast and beautiful nature of the country. Palmerston was in New Zealand terms a big city but for most other places, it would struggle to pass as one. The majority of Palmerston was centered on the square, a well, and a square park, which contained a small duck pond and was used for public events. As we got closer, to it, the buildings got higher but there was rarely one over ten floors. I gently drummed my fingers along the glass, trying to drown out Kitty's voice. "Talk to me." And failing.

"Just," I breathed, speaking for the first time in quarter of an hour, "give me some time." Couldn't she understand we weren't all talkers like Nic? Some of us were quiet and preferred do to things on our own. In a way that was my personal flaw: I was more than happy to help others but asking for help… that was different. Ignoring Kitty's and to some extent Kurt's attempts to cock me into a conversation, I looked back down at the blank, dark floor of the van. Gently I closed my eyes, shutting out the fast changing world around me, deciding not to open them until we stopped.

Which as it turns out, wasn't very long, within five minutes I began to fell the van decelerate and hear the crunch of wheels on louse stones. "Kiddo." Logan's gruff voice pulled me back to reality. "We're here."

Sighing I looked annoyingly up at Logan. "Do we _have_ to do this?" I pleaded back at him. "You guys," I looked around at the others, Kitty was looking softly at me, Nic was talking to Kurt about his new guitar, "don't know my Dad." There was a slight thud as Ms. Monroe bought the van to a stop. "This might not go well." My dad was a perfectly rational person, he was just very stubborn and very assertive, not the type you wanted to annoy, and I'd prefer to annoy _Logan_.

I clicked and slid the door of the van open with a thud and hopped out. Ms. Monroe had parked the van in the car park at the back of the building. As the building was only two stories high, the car park was very small, only about ten parks. In the park next to the van stood my parents dark grey 7-person car, I felt I slight tug of longing as I looked at it. I looked back over at the building. I was still getting used to coming here but there was no denying the pale cream concrete of the place my parents worked. To one side, a back door, indented in the wall was the only break in the wall. I glanced back at the cars, beyond them stood a high, mossy wooden fence, its wood darkened further by the shadow of the trees above it. Momentarily, I wondered whether I could climb and make a run for it.

Ms. Monroe sadly removed that option by placing a comforting arm around me. "Alex, dear," man, I would hate to be her real son, "I know you don't want to do this, but we have to." I sighed as the pressure of her arm made me begin to walk forward. "Besides, do you expect them not to notice the front of the house has been destroyed?" I felt a wave of anger and had to fight to stop the city water pipes from expanding. I _didn't_ need reminding.

The entrance was a glass door, located about halfway down the drive. The door opened into a foyer with another door to the right which led to my parents' section of the building. Even before we walked through, I could see my parents walking quickly around the half-unpacked office, obviously busy. Unable to look at them I looked down at the dark, green carpet. Beside me, I heard Logan sniff sharply. "Err." His could gruff voice was suddenly very uncertain. "Maybe we should…" He stopped as Ms. Monroe swung the door open and led us in to the office. Besides, from a few desks, cabinets and folders the office was almost bare. My dad was sitting on next to Linda at the desk closest to us. Linda had been working with my parents for five years; she was a middle age woman with white skin and shoulder length brown and blond hair pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing a dark red shirt and a pearl necklace. She had the look of your average receptionist, but with the job Linda had, looks where deceiving.

My dad muttered something I didn't hear then turned to us, his cubby and jolly face, turned hard as stone as he looked at Logan. "_James_." His voice was more assertive than I had ever heard. "What are _you_ doing here?" Logan growled like an animal and I felt his body tense as the two shoot daggers at each other.

"Vait," Kurt said what we were all thinking, his voice full of surprise. "You two _know_ each ozer?" My dad ignored him and continued to look angrily at Logan.

His face slowly softened and his gaze turned to me. "I mean Frank… I mean Nic… I mean, whatever your name is. Why are you here?" I relaxed. My dad had, as he always did, mixed me with my older brother. He didn't _really_ know Logan, did he?

As he continued to look at me, I began to wonder what the best way to answer was. He already knew something was up with me, but how was I supposed to confirm it. Was I supposed to say, "Hey Dad I'm a mutant, but that's okay because I'll still study hard." Moreover, after that how was I to explain what happen to the house.

Seeing my hesitation, Ms. Monroe nudged me gently and motioned towards Linda's half-full drink bottle. "Don't be afraid Alex." I was about to tell her I had no way of knowing how my Dad would react to that when I realized, I had no idea how he'd react to anything. I looked back at the bottle and concentrated, I was not going to lose control this time.

The bottle rose shakily and twirling into the air. Linda jumped leap from her seat as if it was on fire. She looked at the bottle transfixed as I lost my concentration and the bottle clattered to the desk. My Dad on the other hand did nothing other than look back at Logan. "How did you do that?" He directed the question at me but didn't take his eyes of Logan.

"Well…" I began but Logan cut me off.

"Perhaps it would be best," he started, "if we and Ms. Monroe were to speak in private." I had to suppress a groan at this. I hated it when people discussed me with out including me. It made me feel like I was in the dark. However, in a way I was relieved I wouldn't have to be there when my Dad found out I'd destroyed the house. "Kitty and Kurt want to have a look at the town, your children could show them round." i.e. Kitty and Kurt could have a go at talking to me, great.

"Nic stays here," Dad said firmly. I apparently didn't need to tell Logan not to try and argue with someone so stubborn. He looked at me. "I'll explain everything to you later, Alex." His voice was calm but frustrated; as if meeting Logan was the last thing he wanted. "For now I want you to take those two," he indicated Kurt and Kitty like they were a couple of annoying dogs, "to town. Go and get some lunch?" He suggested.

"But…" I started, it wasn't often I tired to question my father, you'd have more luck debating with a lion that was about to eat you, but this was my future I had a right to know.

"Alex," He stood up and glared at me, I took a step back and shivered, man he was scary when he wanted to be. "Go have some lunch."

…

**_Location_**_: Palmerston North, Broadway._

I had always hated crowded places. Yes, I know it could have been worse. I could have lived in Shanghai or someplace. However, the shopping centers of Palmerston were still too full of people, especially during lunch. The brown and cream brick paved street was coward enough that the three of us continuously had to move through gaps to get anywhere. Family cars of every brand took up every angle park along the street ahead of us, shadowed by two lines of two and three story buildings. The three of us ducked and weaved through the crowed as I lead Kurt and Kitty towards Downtown. Downtown was a small mall even by New Zealand standards but it had a Cinema and a large food court making it a good place to catch a quick lunch.

Weaving past an old man Kitty caught up with me. "So how does your Dad know Logan?" The question had been on my mind as well and despite turning over memories, I could find no meeting or mention of Logan. I stopped at the pedestrian crossing and turned the memories over again. Nothing. I placed my finger underneath the control that activated the crossing and turn to Kitty as Kurt caught up.

"I honestly have no idea," I answered as more people crowed on both sides of the crossing. "He's never mentioned him before." A small piece of metal jabbed lightly in to my skin, as the crossing activated. "Maybe their long lost brothers," I suggested as we crossed the road to downtown, "They're similar."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed as we reached the other side of the road, "Is he always that, well…" she stopped as if deciding on something "…scary?" I stopped at the breach of privacy the question bought. How was that in any way important to her? Sighing I leaned up against one of the movie advertisement screens and asked just that.

"Alex." Kitty's face fell and she sounded hurt. "I'm just trying to talk to you." She took a couple of steeps forward to prevent people from walking in-between us, Kurt leaned up against the sign with me.

"Ve've been zere before Alex," he stated. "You're scared, frightened, and confused. You have every _right_ to be. But zere's only one way past that and zat's to talk. It may be hard but if you don't ve von't be able to help you und you can guess vat will happen if you don't."

Kitty nodded in agreement and leaned on my other side. "When they came to get me I didn't talk at fist. In fact," she laughed lightly, "I did worse than you. I ran, almost joined this evil mutant group, all because," she looked at me sternly as she stressed the next bit, "I refused to talk."

I looked at the footpath for a moment before turning to Kitty and asking. "Your not going to stop trying to get me to talk, are you Pussy Cat, Jumper?" Behind me, Kurt snorted at the nicknames.

"No we're not," Kitty giggled, "and where did Pussy Cat come from?"

"Girl on my cross-country team's called Kitty," I explained, "and that's what we call her." I stared at her. "Did you really almost join some bad guys?" I asked easily showing my interest.

She nodded. "Yup, and if you want to hear the full story you'd best start talking."

"If you vant to hear about ze day Logan nearly killed us, ze day I found out who my mutter vas or ze day ve saved the vorld," Kurt rattled of, leaving me wondering whether or not to believe him, "zen stop being introverted."

I looked from one to the other. They both seemed to be great people who could, if I was willing to let them, be even greater friends. Kurt was right. I was scared, too scared to want to talk. However, he was also right in saying I needed, above everything else, to talk to someone. "Shall we talk over lunch, then?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Kurt heaved himself of the sign. "Finally! Took you long enough. Now ve can finally go and eat." I couldn't help but laugh as he said that. I pushed myself up and looked at the sign I had been leaning against. On it was a face split in two, one half was a metal mask, the other was of a middle-aged man. The title of the movie was 'Iron Man: The true story of Tony Stark, From Child to Superhero.'

"Gods," Kitty exclaimed at the movie, "Does that guy _need_ anymore money or fame."

"Who cares," Kurt said as he made his way towards the glass doors, "I'm hungry, let's eat."

…...…...

**_Location_**_: Downtown food court_

The food court bustled behind me as I gripped a spoon and served my self up a portion of fried rice from the china town somorgus board. China town was one of about a dozen outlets located around the edge of the small white-tiled rectangular food court. The other outlets included a McDonalds, a couple of café's, a curry place and few others I had never bothered to look at. Picking up the tray that contained my overfull plate I weaved my way through a small maze of white tables and blue chairs to where kitty and Kurt where sitting. Kurt, I did a double take it this, had a try containing six big Macs compared to Kitty who had one.

Gently pulling out a chair, I sat down across from them. We ate in silence for a minute before Kurt finally spoke. "I've got a question I have been dying to ask for like four hours." He took another bite of his second burger before continuing with his mouth half full. "Vhy is your country so… vell… concerned vith food getting zrough ze airports? Why not bombs."

I placed my used fork on my tray and clasped my hands together in front of me. "I figured working with a Professor in evolution you'd know how it works, don't you."

"I'm a tech nerd," Kitty answered proudly, "and Kurt isn't exactly the science type. We don't work with him, we live with him and just cause we live with him doesn't mean we understand what he talked about."

"Oh," I answered in understanding and shock. They _lived_ with the guy. I made a mental note to ask about what this 'recruitment' entailed. "Well it comes from the fact New Zealand is so isolated as a result the plants and animals adapted into entirely new species. Our flora and furan are unique, so if they die out, they're gone."

They both nodded in understanding, so I asked the million-dollar question "So if I join this group, what exactly happens?"

"To put it simply," Kitty stated obviously pleased the conversation had reached its point, "we train you in you in controlling your ability at our mansion in New York."

"In _America_?" I asked in shock. "You want me to go to America?" They didn't seriously mean for me to go half way across the world to learn how to control this thing.

"What is wrong with America?" Kitty asked confused

"Apart from being full of Americans?" I asked back as a joke. Kurt burst out laughing but stopped as Kitty glared at both of us. I meet her gaze. "My apologies Pussy Cat. I meant that as a joke." I felt a pang of guilt at hurting her.

"It's fine, Alex," Kitty said, her forgiveness making me fell much better. "Anyway," she continued, "yes, we need you to come to America. It's the only place you can learn to control your ability and the only place you'll be safe from others." She paused for a moment. "If you're worried about cost, don't. The Professor will pay for everything. What's important to him is that you're safe."

"It'll be like boarding school." Kurt explained. "You'll live and go to school in New York. The only difference is instead of being in Wanganui you'll be in New York."

My phone buzzed, signaling a text, as the two continued to explain the fundamentals it would entail. Thinking it was my Dad I flipped it open.

The text read. ' ,bathroom, .'

I re-read text twice to make sure then flipped my phone shut. "… You'll love it there Alex," Kitty was saying, "you really will." I nodded but I was only half-paying attention, I now had something else on my mind.

"Zere's a school zat ve go to zat you'll be enrolled in and I'm sure ze Professor and your parents can sort out any problems vith ze change in curriculum." Kurt followed on, and then stopped, suddenly, like the rest of us, remembering my Dad and Logan. "Provided zat ozer zings such as vatever relationship your dad and Logan used to have are sorted first."

"We're not expecting you to make a full decision yet, Alex," Kitty told me, "but will you consider the option?" I looked from her to Kurt, should I consider it and go to America. It wasn't simply an hour drive away like my current school, it was a 13-hour flight, and I would leave everything my home, my school, my mates. The again how many mates did I still have? Were they still my friends after what happened? Besides, in many ways I was board with my life at school. Like that quote from Shawshank redemption, boarding schools are built on routine, then more routine and I hated it. Going to America would mean a fresh start, a new adventure, a new experience and if there was anything I loved it was experience and adventure.

I looked at my hands, that and the fact I was dangerous to so many others if I didn't get help meant there was only really one option and yet what was with that text. I looked back at them. "I need to go toilet. Could I tell you when I get back?"

"Sure." Kitty answered before taking another bite from her burger, Kurt made a sound that might have been yes but his mouth was fill with his fourth.

Getting to my feet, I quickly weaved my way towards the toilet, located down a hallway next to the McDonalds. Reaching the entrance I looked back to see if Kurt and Kitty where watching me, Kitty was but Kurt seemed more interested in his fifth burger. Nodding to Kitty I walked down the hallway to the toilet. I stopped once again at the entrance, was this really a good idea? I didn't even know who'd text me, what danger did he or she mean? Taking a deep breath, I opened the large white door and saw someone waiting for me.

Like the food court, the toilet was made with white tiles and plaster walls. Along one side stood four white open cubicles, along the other two sinks sat underneath a mirror, but it was what was in the middle the caught my attention. A guy, my age, maybe a bit younger stood in the centre. He had long, shoulder length, blond hair suiting his longish face. He was white, but tanned, someone who spent most of his days in the blistering sun, probably working owing to his respectable amount of muscle. He wore a grey shirt, faded blue jeans and shiny black combat boots.

He surveyed me for a moment. "Okay, I know this may sound strange," his voice was soft but clearly American, "and I know you might struggle to accept it, but you're in a lot of danger."

I took a few steps forward but kept my distance. "Yeah, I got your text," I replied still unsure of what to make of this, "But _what_ danger." If he could at lest tell me I might know what to do. "Who are you anyway?"

"My name is not important," He huffed, "what's important is that you get away from them."

I answered stupidly. "Who? Kurt and Kitty?

"Yes, the X-Men," he confirmed, using a term I didn't know

"The X-What?

The boy sighed in frustration. "The X-Men!" His voice suddenly became louder. "They're part of a group of villainous mutants obsessed with world domination, that's why they want you. They want you to help them."

I was silent for a moment. This was impossible. Kitty and Kurt weren't evil. They were good people, good mutants. Kitty had _refused_ to join the bad guys, hadn't she? "You're _joking_ right?" I asked. "Those two," I motioned back to the food court, "_aren't_ evil. They want to _help_ me, not destroy the world."

The boy's eyes changed slightly and I notice a bit of sweet on his forehead. "I'm _not_ joking Alex," he answered, breathing fast. "I _really_ wish I was, but I'm not. They may seem like nice people, but their not. It's all a trick, all a manipulation. They're not really going to come up to you and ask, 'Hey Alex, want to help us dominate the world?'" I had to admit he had a point. Still that meant it was possible, it _didn't_ mean it was likely. On the other hand, my Dad did hate Logan for _some_ reason, maybe this was it. "They've already tried," the boy continued. "Remember that explosion in the sky last month?"

I nodded, last month something, no one was sure what had exploded above the planet. The explosion had lit up the moon which at the time hand been in its waxing stage. "That was _them_." The boy explained. "They had an asteroid heading towards the planet, if it had hit the planet we would all be dead. Luckily, the people I work for managed to stop them by blowing it up. Unfortunately they managed to escape before the explosion."

I felt weak in shock at the information. This _couldn't_ be true, could it? "Who do you work for?" I asked hoping it would give me time to think.

The boy hesitated at the question. "I work for a group of mutants dedicated to protecting the world from people like them." He took a step forward, I didn't step back. "It's of the upmost importance that you get away from them, Alex. I'm not sure what they want with you, but," he took another step forward, he was now in front of me and for the first time I notice he was slightly taller than me, "I can assure you that it won't be good. I can help you. Come with me, my people will keep you safe."

I took a couple of steps back so he was once again at a safe distance. I didn't want to admit it, but the guy looked frightened, a layer of sweet was glistening on his face. Why was he so scared? Was it because of the people? If it was, didn't that mean what he'd said was right? That Kitty and Kurt were evil? That made _no_ sense! They were so happy, so nice, so… so…. so _keen_ to get me to America. Kitty had said recruitment, something that she wasn't supposed to say, and they had both been very vague on what the training involved. Maybe they _were_ villains.

I continued to look at the boy as I weighed up my options. Okay, so they _might_ be villains, but I could at least confront them about it. I mean what was the worst they could do in a public place if what the guy said was true? I should at least give them a chance to explain. "Thanks for the info," I told the boy, "I'll talk to them, see what they have to say." I turned, making my way swiftly towards the door.

"Alex," the boy exclaimed starting after me, "these people want you! If they think you've discovered their true purpose, they're going to stop playing nice!"

I turned my hand on the handle. "If things turn sour, then you can save me, how about that? It's not like they could kidnap me in broad daylight." Without waiting for him to reply, I opened the door and made my way back to the table, with even _more_ on my mind. Man, this was turning into one hell of a day.

….

_Back in the toilet._

Sam watched in anger and frustration as the door swung shut behind Alex. '_But then, what did you expect?_' he consoled himself. '_That the man would just take you at your word, some random that he meet in the toilet?_' However that _didn't_ stop his annoyance. After all, there was only one outcome of Alex confronting them. "They'll convince him otherwise, won't they?" He voiced the question allowed.

"Yes Four, they will," One replied. "The guy's nice and compassionate, I'll give him that. He wants to give everyone a chance. Unfortunately, that just makes our job harder." Sam turned looking at what appeared to be a bare white wall. A moment later One and Two appeared out of nowhere as they both let go of Three, Sam heard Three give a huff of exhaustion, keeping two others invisible for so long must have been tiring. "You know," One said as she walked closer to Sam, "I've always wondered what the male toilets look like," she turned back to the wall, "haven't you, Three?"

"Um… yeah," Three answered unconvincingly.

"Doubt it," Two gruffly dismissed the young girl's answer. "Do you know how many times Four and I have sensed you in our rooms when we're about to change." Sam was sure that if Three was visible, her cheeks would be bright red."

"So if you both notice," Three queried, "why is Four the only one who chucks me out."

Before Two could even start to blush himself, Sam spoke up. "We can worry about this later. Right now we have Alex to deal with." The other three mutants were silent, so Sam continued. "Although the actions he took were the most likely, Alex's choice means we will need to take him buy force." He paused. "We're moving to Plan B."

"Plan B." Three said, as if to confirm it.

"Cool," One said gleefully, "I like Plan B!"

Two looked at the three of them confused. "Ur...What's Plan B again?"

….

Kurt had somehow managed to finish all his burgers by the time I got back to the table. He and Kitty were in a deep discussion about something, as they saw me approach they broke off. "You were in there a while," Kitty noted as I sat down and took another bite out of my now semi-cold lunch.

"Yeah, sorry," I murmured, still unsure of how to confront them about what that random guy had said.

"So," Kitty said, not noticing my sudden change in attitude, "did you consider joining us?"

"I don't get it," I questioned. "You're willing to sponsor me to America, help train me in the use of this," I held up my hands, "gift, curse, whatever you want to call it. You're willing to do all this for me, but what's in it for _you_?" I leaned closer. "Do you want me to help you take over a _continent_ or something?"

Both of them looked at me in shock what. "_Vat_?" Kurt exclaimed. "Vere did _zat_ come from?"

Kitty was far calmer. "No," she shook her head, "we don't." She leaned forward. "Alex," she sighed, "we didn't tell you yet, but not all of us mutants are good. Some, some are evil and use their powers to hurt others. We're trained to stop them." I looked at her. She'd said exactly the guy in the toilet had said about _his_ people. Both of them were saying _they_ were the good guys.

"What about the explosion in the sky?" I pressed. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

They both looked at me uncomfortable and in shock. "Alex," Kurt answered in amazement after a moments shock, "vat makes you zink zat had anyzing to do vith us?"

Their unease, shock and inability to answer the question straight was quickly confirming what they guy in the toilet had said: that they were villains. "Just answer the question!" I felt my voice rising, but I also felt my mind blur. I concentrated, there were too many people around to lose control.

The two of them were silent for a whole half a minute before Kitty started to say something. "Well, Alex, you see, what happen was…" and then all hell broke loose.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

The sound ripped through the air startling everyone in the room. I had been coming to Downtown my whole life, but this was the first time I'd heard the evacuation siren. Around us, a few hundred people suddenly started leaping to their feet and making their way towards the door. I instinctively looked around for what the problem was, but I couldn't see anything wrong. I looked back at Kurt and Kitty hoping they might have some idea of what was happening, but I quickly judged by the confused looks and similar reactions that they didn't.

Kurt opened his mouth, as if to say something but whatever it was, it was cut short, as some invisible force slammed his and Kitty's heads into the table. The table flipped, showering food and cutlery everywhere as they slumped to the ground, unconscious. I leaped to my feet, looking around for someone to help, but no one had even noticed. Everyone was too busy evacuating. I knelt down by Kitty's unconscious form, and ran my fingers around her writs, searched for a pulse. I found it, she was still alive but her head had been bruised and cut open.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I stood up, intent on finding someone and getting some help, but I never got that far. Something sharp jabbed into my back and my legs gave way beneath me as I tumbled to the floor. With the last of my strength, I rolled on to my back. Looking up with my fading vision I saw the blond haired boy from the toilet. "I'm sorry Alex," he said, as my mind began to drift. His voice had an edge of guilt. "You didn't leave me a choice." Then everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5: Hellfire.

A lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright, But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight.

Sir Alfred Tennyson

Location: I've just been drugged, how the hell should I know

Time: See Location

My mind was sluggish, that was the first thing I notice. I had never been drunk enough before to have a hangover but I decided that, that was what it felt like. I heard myself grown and I tied to find the physical and mental capacity to move, I lacked both, whatever I was lying on was just to soft. Slowly I opened my eyes, blinking multiple times to make thing clear. Above me, the ceiling was a light shade of cream with a single glowing bulb in the centre. I tried to see more without moving, failing that I tired to move again, once again it was to no avail.

"Don't try and move." A voice, it was young, around Nic's age, female. "The drug induced temporary paralysis." I couldn't see her, whoever she was, but from the sound of it, she was at the far end of the room. "It should wear of in a moment." There was a scruff of feet on carpet. "I'll go and tell the others your awake." A moment later, a door slammed shut.

It took me about five minutes to overcome the paralysis that was still plaguing my body, making it stiff. All the while memories flashed through my mind, the blond boy leaning over me, talking, everything was blurred and fading. Something sharp jabbing me and my body giving way, he'd drugged me. Kitty lying unconscious on the floor, her head gashed

"KITTY!" The memory shot me rapidly to my feet. She could be in danger. I took a fragile step towards the dark brown door, only to fall flat on my face. Note to self; don't try to walk whist drugged. Using my returning strength, I pulled myself across the faded blue carpet and into one of the blood red armchairs by the window. By the looks of it, the room was definitely a hotel. A big double bed in the centre, a fridge and TV located on shelves along one wall and a bathroom through a door in the other.

"Okay," I thought quickly, "I'm in a hotel, what hotel?" I glanced out the window, the clear sky made the sun easily visible; it was low in the sky. I quickly calculated the time to be about 5 o'clock. That meant I'd been out for four hours. I had a sudden realization of how worried my Dad would be, especially if he investigated and saw what had happen to the food court.

I looked back out the window; I was about ten stories up meaning that the square, which was close by, was clearly visible through the window. I sighed with relief, I hadn't been moved far. That meant I could easily get back to the others. That thought in mind I, with difficulty, pulled myself to my feet and staggered towards the door. I had just about reached it when it opened, knocking me on my face, again.

"Sorry." The girl was back. I growled, this was one weird day, I push myself up onto my right elbow and looked for her, but I couldn't see her anywhere, even weirder.

"I'm invisible." The sound came from above me, but there was nothing there. "That's why you can't see me."

"Invisible." I thought and reached out. Instantly my hand touched the unmistakable form of an ankle. I struggled to my feet with amazement; there was an invisible girl in front of me. I reached out again, my hand bumping in to her shoulder. I looked at my hand, it looked like there was nothing there and my hand was just pointing to the opposite wall, yet I could fell her, the warmth of her body, my hand move to her neck, even her pulse.

"Finished touching me, Alex" The girl asked, forcing me to blush.

"Sorry." I replied, pulling my hand away, as quick as I could.

"Good," The girl said her voice becoming quieter as she turned away, "Follow me."

"Okay," I thought, "this is smart. Follow someone I can't see." I walk through the door and into a long narrow corridor, with rooms on either side. The hallway was about the same length either way. "Where are you?" I asked, totally lost.

"Here." Sound came from the right. "Follow the sound of my voice."

Despite everything, I was finding the whole situation both absurd and amusing. Here I was following some invisible girl through a hotel, after being kidnapped, because I was a mutant that could some how manipulate water. "What's you name?" I asked as I started down the hallway.

"I don't have one." The girl answered to my surprise as we reached a pair of elevators. The 'go down' button flicked on. "Just call me Three."

"Three?" I questioned the name over the ping of the lift's arrival. The doors slid open and I watched the lift shake as 'Three' hopped on. I followed.

The Three giggled. "Yea, Three." She pushed the button for restaurant and the doors slid shut.

…...

Five was still to early for most people to have dinner so the dinning hall that Three lead me into was almost deserted. The room was well lit, more with the ground floor windows than the lamps overhead. The tables where rectangle, ranging from one to four seats long and were covered in a pale cream table cloths. It wasn't a 5-star hotel restaurant but it wasn't shitty either.

Somewhere in front of me Three spoke. "The man and the woman on the far table." I looked over. The woman was young barely into her twenties. Her hair was a bright blond and it flowed gently over her exposed white shoulders and her very short white, no not white, diamond if that's a colour, dress. She had a tall lead structure and large breasts that her dress seemed to show off more than it should. The man was older, though not more than thirty like the woman he was Caucasian but he had short well-kept brown hair as opposed to her blond. He wore a black tuxedo that must have cost enough to bail out Greece. They where both sitting on the same side of a two seat long table. They were both looking at me with smiles. "Their the ones in charge, they want to talk to you." The change in Three's voice let me know that it wasn't a request.

Keeping my eyes steady with theirs, I walked across the blue carpet and sat down. I looked from one to the other unsure of what to say; fortunately, the man started the conversation. "Alex," his voice was calm and strong, "my name is Sebastian Shaw." He held his hand out and I took it, his grip was firm.

"Mr. Shaw?" I breathed in shock, the Sebastian Shaw, was this man the… "The same Sebastian Shaw that donated all that money to Christchurch." Earlier that year a large earthquake had hit one of New Zealand's main cities, Christchurch. Millions of dollars in aid had been sent from everywhere and one of the biggest contributions was the leader of some big international group called the Hellfire club, the leader of which was Sebastian Shaw.

"Yes," Shaw confirmed, "you will find Alex that I am rather well of and I have always believed that it is the duty of the well off to help the less well off," he looked at me curiously, "don't you agree."

"Yes." Being well off myself, I could understand this.

"Excellent." Shaw said clapping his hands together. "But we detour, so let us return to why we are here."

"Why we are here?" My mind rushing back to my current situation. "You drug and kidnapped me!" I shouted "Remember!" I felt a wave of anger pulse out and the glass jug on the table suddenly shattered. I concentrated, quickly calming myself before I caused any real damage.

"It's okay Alex," Shaw said softly, barely hearable over my deep breaths. "We're not here to harm you." He gently placed a palm over my tensed fist. "We're here to help you."

I none to gently pulled my hand away. "Why should I trust you?" I questioned. "You're the second group of people to say that to me today. The first group was a group of villains, according to you, yet you're the only ones to attack and drug me."

Shaw lent back and sighed. "I understand. You're being rushed into a new world, a world you don't fully understand." He looked at me with a gentle look of sympathy. "Your frighten, alone and have no idea who to trust or who to tell you who to trust." I nodded correct on all accounts. "So how do I prove to you I'm the good guy?" He seemed to consider something for a moment before calling out. "Three come here girl."

I looked around, and then remembering how pointless that was, turned back to Shaw. "Why is she called Three?" I asked as Three approached.

"Its just a codename," Shaw explained, "It keeps her identity secret from groups who appose us." The chair opposite us moved out and sagged slightly.

"Yo…you call m…me sir." The shakiness of Three's voice caught me off guard and I eyed Shaw with suspicion, why did Three fear him if he was such a good person? Why…the strain of thought suddenly vanished as it made sense, I don't know why, but it did, I turn back to Three.

"Three," Shaw said, "Why don't you tell Alex here a bit of what the Hellfire club have done for the shake of humanity.

"Any deserter that occurs we respond to with aid and help." Three's voice had returned to normal, although as she spoke she seemed to lack expression. The Hellfire club is a multibillion-dollar organization with the money and resources to help with anything. Any disaster in the last five years has been responded to by hellfire. However, it's not just money Alex, the Hellfire allows mutants such as us to use our powers to help others. My invisibility enables me to pass undetected, making me perfect for anti-terrorist and anti-hostage situations. The Fabian hostage taking being a fine example."

As Three finished talking, there was a moment of silence as I considered all I had heard. Yes, the Hellfire club was well known as one of the greatest aid organization, something a villain wouldn't be part of. But I couldn't help but fell a nagging sense of doubt at something, if I could just put a finger on it, I could….and it was gone as if it was never there. I looked back at Three. "What of the X-men, where do they fit in?"

"Everything Four told you is true about them." Three stated. By Four, she must have meant the boy from the toilet. It all began to fit so nicely, the x-men were villains it explained their lack of openness and secrecy. They had showed knowledge about the explosion last month but had been very touchy about it, as if there were things they didn't want to tell. The group in front of me however had been open; I hadn't even had to ask. I knew I could trust them to tell the truth if I needed anything else.

"What will…?" I began, before being cut of by Meatloaf's 'Bat out of hell' coming from Shaw's pocket. He pulled out the most expensive and high tech phone I had even seen. He looked at it and sighed in annoyance. "I'm so sorry Alex but something has come up at my work I'm sure you can understand." He pressed a button on the phone and a moment later, a girl entered the room. She was my age, dark skinned; she wore a frilly dark blue dress and black tights. "I'm sure you have much to think about," Shaw continued," and many more questions and I'll be happy to talk more over dinner later here along with your parents." I felt a wave of relief at the mention that I would soon see my family again, they would be worried. "But for now, it would be best if you returned to your hotel room, the other two x-men a still unaccounted for. One here will accompany and guard you." I nodded feeling slightly worried and hoping that the x-men hadn't done anything to my family.

"Come Alex." One said and I turned a followed

…

Shaw and Emma watched the boy go, both deep in through, Three remained where she was, not wanting to move without permission. "So," Emma spoke coldly, "we send at team out to save the boys parents before the x-men kill them."

Shaw nodded, he knew the words were subtext for "We send a team out to kill all of them and make it look like they just arrived to late." "It's good you were here Emma," Shaw acknowledged, "With out you playing with the boy's head it would have been a lot harder to convince him."

"Speaking of that." Emma began before cracking the back of her palm so hard across Three's cheek that the young girl was knocked to the ground. The girl gave a gasp of shock and a splash of blood appeared on the carpet. "You little bitch!" Emma yelled as she stood and bought her palm down again. The girl gasped again and began to sob. "You know how much you nearly fucking costs us with that little shaky voice of yours, you peace of shit." Using Three's mind she found where she was a drove her foot hard in to her stomach, Three began gasping heavily, winded as more blood began appearing on the carpet.

"Emma." Shaw said sternly to get the woman's attention. Emma turned, placing her foot on the invisible girl's throat to keep her down, she open her mind so Shaw could talk with out the girl listening. "I have bigger fish to fry so I'll leave you to it. Just remember that I need her to be able to work by tomorrow."

Emma nodded and as Shaw left, she picked up one of the stack knives from the nearby table and pressed it hard against Three's neck. "This is your one warning pupillo." She pressed harder and a narrow line of red appeared on the blade. "So if you ever fuck up again I'll make you wish you were dead. Undearstand?

"Yes." Three crocked through the pain.

"Good," She said releasing the child, "know get your self clean up." She began to walk away before stopping a shouting back. "And clean that blood out of the carpet, I don't want it coming out of the bill." Unseen Three nodded and continued to sob.

…

Location: Not to far away.

Time: Not long after.

The room was dark, she couldn't see a thing. She'd tried phasing through the cold iron shackles that held her to the metal chair she was in, it hadn't worked.

She called out again. "Hello, anyone there? What do you want?

She'd called out multiple times already to no reply, but this time was different, this time a reply came and it made her wish it hadn't.

"Hello Miss. Pride, my name is Mr. Shaw. And as for what I want, well I simply want to know how many ways there really are, to skin a cat.


End file.
